wow. oh wow. I so need these... many of these. The Canadian one is cute (perfect for this Canadian)... but the one that made me giddy was pet shop. We are giving my boys 2 guinea pigs for Christmas and that cart has a guinea pig!!!

WOW! SO many releases!! My tip would be, to make sure your mat is sticky and your blade is sharp! And of course, if at first you don't succeed, try try again!! Practice makes perfection! Thanks for sharing!!

Love the new carts. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for the Ribbons and Rosettes one. I'm already a follower, thanks for the chance to win.

My best Cricut tip, test cut on plain paper before using your good cardstock. I've wasted so much paper because I thought it was cutting on a certain size and those crazy cartridges that do whatever they want made HUGE letters!!

Love the new carts! My best tip for using the cricut is that the gypsy is an absolute must have. Eliminates wasted paper b.c it allows you to see the exact size before it cuts. I know the E2 does that also, but I always use the gypsy with my E2 b.c it is so much easier than going thru all the screens on the E2.Of course, I have been following for years!

Oh wow so many new cartridges...My best advice about using the cricut is just to keep trying and check all of your dials before you hit start!I love being your follower and thanks so much for the chance! Pjritsema at gmail dot com

My best tip for using the Cricut is to search the internet for tips and ideas. I am a new Cricut owner and find the information from bloggers and others in forums is invaluable!!! Thank you all for posting such wonderful and creative ideas!

My favorite of the new releases is the rosettes. My cricut tip is to use the internet for ideas and inspiration. Your blog has been a constant source of inspiration and ideas since I received by baby bug 2 years ago. I still can't tie a decent bow but I'm working on it.

wow!! had no idea about all these fun cartridges being released! my tip is to invest in a gypsy! It makes using your cricut soooo much easier and you can do so much with it! Can't imagine using my cricut without my gypsy! :)

My tip would be measure twice cut once. Be careful when you are setting up Your paper to cut (one of the reasons I love my Gypsy) so protect your blade. Too small paper will have the blade cut the mat and dull the blade.

I have quite a few favorites but so glad to see faith based carts now :)

My tip is if you have a lot of cartridges use Craft Room, the Gypsy, or CricutSearch.com to search on a shape when you are starting to brainstorm a project. That way you aren't missing out on that one item that may be just right for a project just because you didn't remember you had it.

I just gave a tip to someone today and that is; when you're new to Cricut, get on Youtube and watch some of the thousands of tutorials that are posted then just play around and practice using it yourself.

I can't wait to see what you create with these! My best tip would probably be to watch youtube vieos and follow blogs (like yours and Melanies and Tammy and Robyn and others) to learn different techniques and get lots of inspiration!

Amazing set of new carts!My favorite tip is: to extend the life of your Cricut mats, use one of the big Zig glue pens and spread the glue all over the mat (in a criss-cross/weave pattern). When you let it completely dry, it becomes removable adhesive, so you can use the mat numerous more times with your paper. The adhesive isn't AS sticky as an out-of-the-box mat, which is good, because it's not so tacky that it rips your paper when you try to take your cut off of the mat.

Wow! I'm dieing over the ribbons and rosettes cart. Love!!! My best tip for using the Cricut is cleaning the mat in warm sudsy water. It does not remove all the sticky and extends the life of the mat to about twice as long!

I am SO EXCITED!!! These carts are so cool and I am so happy they came out with some new Imagine carts! My tip for using the Cricut is washing the mats with baby wipes. This works AWESOME, until you just need a new mat anyway!

Great new releases.. my wishlist is getting bigger! I think my best tip is to cut on scrap paper first to get the exact measurement needed for your good cardstock. I'm able to save alot more good paper now that I do this. :)

I'm pretty new to actually using my Cricut, so my best tip for folks is to read the Obsessed with Scrapbooking blog and watch several you tube video tutorials! Thanks so much for the awesome giveaway...now to go through and read the tips...

Wow, thanks for sharing and for the giveaway opportunity! Can't wait to try some of these new cartridges. Best tip would be to pat a brand new mat w/hand or on jeans to take away some of the major stickiness, so it does not rip paper when removing cut item. New follower on facebook.(blteb2@foxvalley.net)

I'm a follower; such great new releases, and thanks for the chance to win the hauntings cart. I used to cut images on slow speed, but I now find that using a higher speed seems to make a cleaner cut.--Pat N.

my best tip would be.......You Tube You Tube You Tube!!!!!I found these GREAT ladies one there that make videos, and this is a great way to get over the fears of using you Cricuts.....now one of those sites is............... http://www.cricutholiday.com/now these 2 really now what they are doin!!!!LOLthank you so much Joy, you and Melanie have helped sooooo many of us get over those fears... I know I send everyone I meet to yours and Mel's sites......thank you so much for the chance to winbrodiec88 at hotmail dot com

im fairly new to my cricut, but one of the things i like most about it that i recently found out, is to use teh gypsy to weld letters together when spelling out something so that you dont hve to glue every individual letter seperately!! though im sure most of you already knew that

Love the ribbons and rosettes and tis the season cartridges. So cute! My best tips are to make sure your mat is clean and still sticks good before trying to cut. Also YouTube is a great learning tool! Thanks for the giveaway!

my best tip is probably one everyone already knows .. when using a new mat hug it or place it agains some sort of fabric to reduce the stick just enough so your papers dont rip. :) thanks for the chance to win.-jamiebabyblueangel_30@yahoo.com

My tip: Design Studio will save you paper and frustration. You can chose the right size for your image and paper, place paper in the right space, and even design a whole lo; and know that it will come out just the way you envision it.

My tip is just have fun don't get frustrated and if you cut something that ends up being the wrong size just have a (cricut) embellishment container and save 'em all....your icons end up being used one time or another :) Then when you have it figured out :) keep a notebook!

I really like the fast food cart. We don't eat fast food but the icons are ones I'm always needing because of bbq's and get togethers :)

So many beautiful new cartridges. Arent we lucky. Many thanks Provocraft.My tip is to use a baby wipe and rub clean your mats.then let them to dry and they will then be nice and sticky again. It works wonderfully.

The best tip I can give is what to use these cartridges for - as a teacher - it great to create the various items for theme teacher or even the bulletin board. Great for learning new vocabulary, too!!!! I would LOVE to win the Canada (as I live in Canada) cartridge - what a perfect teaching tool!!!!!!

Oh, i just LOVE all the new releases, but my favorite is definitely the Ribbons & Rosettes cart!!! Oh, the cool layouts and cards i could make with that one! I cannot often afford Cricut cartridges unfortunately, but this one goes on my 'Wish List' for sure!

Now, to answer your question, i'm no Cricut pro so i'm afraid i wouldn't be able to give you any tip that you don't already know... The most important tip i could give newbies is MAKE SURE YOUR PAPER IS STUCK TO YOUR CUTTING MAT BEFORE CUTTING! hehe I wasted my fair share of paper in my day :P

Wow...so many fabulous new cartidges. My Christmas wish list just got a lot longer. : ) -- I'm still learning how to use my cricut so my best tip would be to learn from others through their blogs and videos. Thanks for sharing all your fabulous tips.

I'm still new to paper crafting with the cricut. I love making cards though. My biggest frustration was getting the card to work with the envelope. My tip would be don't sweat the envelope . Buy the A2 cards with envelopes.

AWESOME!! I am in AWE :) My tip for the cricut is.. to check out the blogs, cricut.com and NEVER think you can't do something because with Cricut - search - try and keep going. I love CRICUT!! Dorisparkernana5 @ cox. net

My best tip is "Double check your preessure and speed settings before hitting the cut button". I can't tell you how much paper I wasted by not having the proper settings! I love the ribbons and rosettes and the New Testament cartridges - can't wait to see what you do with these!

My best tip would be to experiment. Use plain ole computer printer paper and mess around with things until you get just what you want, THEN cut it out on your project paper! There are some great Cricut machine how-tos out there check them out on youtube!

When wanting to use vinyl to make a saying/project, in order to have it easily have everything even/level/straight use a Gypsy or the Expression 2 so you can see exactly how it is going to cut. The all you have to use is transfer tape over the whole thing and it's complete.

My tip, is cleaning my cricut. I keep baby wipes close by and use that to keep it clean...I wipe it down and where the paper and mat goes in. Wipe the bar down to keep it clear and take out my blade now and then to make sure there is no paper caught up in the houseing...hope this helps..Cathy D

Tear out the foreign language pages from the book and renumber the pages to correlate with the key overlay. Start the first row as 10, 11, 12 etc. the second row as 20, 21, etc. and so forth down to the last row which begins 50 and ends 59. Much easier to locate the icon you want that way.

Oh I want that rossette cart!! My best tip is to try out your image on a scrap piece of cardstock first to make sure you get what you want. I've wasted some good paper by just sticking it in the cricut and cutting what I thought was the right size. I am still learning

Cute new cartridges - something for everyone!!My tip would be to use the Cricut tools for getting the cut shape off the mat easily and then get all the little bits & pieces off with little effort. Also - try cutting things you don't think you'd ever use...you might be surprised how much nicer is is when you see it cut out! You can always use it on a card.

Not really a tip, but I highly recommend the Gypsy. I have the "baby" Cricut machine and it has made it so much more versatile. I rotate images and this allows me to cut things larger than the 5.5 in. limit of the machine. Thanks for the chance to win.bhadder at mei dot net

So many new cartridges at once! I can't wait to go to Cricut.com and check out the handbooks carefully or DS or CCR. I guess that is my tip, you can check out the images on these sites before you buy a new Cricut cartridge and really get a better idea of what is on the cartridges you choose before your actual purchase.

Two tips: my Gypsy helps me set up sizing and piece a project together before cutting to make sure it works well together. 2nd tip is to cut image before changing out the blade to a Cricut marker (or it can get soft and hard to cut from the moisture of the ink!)ladydevine73@hotmail.com

I picked out which carts Im interested in, But can I afford them, probally NOT.My tip for using the cricut is to use it day.Thats the only way one can master it. Play, experimenont and to try all the option buttons on the Cricut to leaern what they do. And HAVE FUN....Dawn RI

Very excited about these new carts! I actually have a couple of tips...1) Sticky mat, sharp blades - this enables you to get the best cuts with your Cricut. 2) Gypsy is a time and space saver - store all my carts there so it's easy to take with me anywhere and I can design anywhere/antime. 3) The CartCheckList iphone app is a must - keeps me from buying duplicate carts! Good luck to all and thanks for all your great tips.

Today my tip is Multi cut! I am making dimensional leaves from chipboard. Use multi cut to get good release from the board. Then take 3 pieces, stack them layered with glue, cut a 4th piece from desired paper & you have your own chipboard, dimensional embelly!Thanks for the chance to winSusan

Wow the new cartridges look great. I do love the Pet Shop.My favorite tip for the cricut is to mark your booklets so you know which direction your image will gain when you make them bigger. I've created a really long item when I wanted a thicker one. Then I found I would forget which direction the image would increase and do it all again another time. Thank goodness for the gypsy! If your book is marked you don't have to remember!

Love all the new releases! Great Dracula card, too! My favorite Cricut tip is to always use a sticky mat for cutting. It is so frustrating to have paper move while the blade is cutting an image - it's worth pulling out a new mat!

I'm not that experienced yet with my Cricut, so I'll be reading these tips. But I have learned that it is best if you're making a card and want a matching envelope, to start with the envelope cut and make it as large as you can on your paper. Cut that first and note the size setting. Now use that size setting when you cut your card and it will be just the right size. After cutting the card first, I would find that to make a fitting envelope the size was too large to cut and envelope that size. Love all the new cartridges.

I have two tips. I buy ribbon by the yard at my scrap store. I cut 5" x 7" cardboard. Using small piece of tape tape one end wrap ribbon around and using small piece of tape tape other end. This then goes into a plastic sleeve that holds 3-4 of them. This keeps it nice and flat. Other tip hubby took a 2"thick by 4" deep x 15" long. He drill 3/4 in holes on top this enables my to store my stickles up side down. The holes are bigger that the diameter of my glue pens but I store them also in a whole upside down. You could drill any size hole for bottle you have.LindaB in WI

Thank you for the preview. My list for Santa has just grown by 10! I'm a novice, too, but found a great "lint remover" at the state fair vendors' booths (not the disposable paper kind, but a roller that's reuseable by rinsing off), and it works great to clean up my mat. Thanks for all the tips, and for the chance to win!

I guess I'm really surprised at how many people are not using either DS, Gypsy, or CCR. The cricut is great, but with one of those you NEVER make the mistake of making things the wrong size. As I am over 50, the DS works best for my eyes - but they are all good. My tip is to cut out fancy "labels" in advance from white and ivory cardstock and have a session stamping and embossing generic sentiments on them - thank you, happy birthday, etc. then when I'm making cards, I can simply stick one of them on without having to get out all the embossing supplies.

OMG love the new releases, rosettes will have to be my first to get. Tip: the gypsy (new CCR) are wonderful ways to explore and learn the cricut. Playing around and experimenting is the best way to learn to use it.

Pat Love the card with the Count on it! My favoite Cricut tip is to save your not-so-sticky mats to use for stamped images that you want to color with markers/copics. It keeps your image in one spot and your're less apt to mess up.gaskogroup@triad.rr.com

My tip for using the Cricut is to keep the mat clean and I rotate the paper around to make the mat last longer. I am in love with several of the new releases this month. Also I have wanted Happy Hauntings for some time now...hopefully I will get it from you:)mexicopetshop at hotmail dot comcathyplus5.blogspot.com

My best tip is for re-use of mats when they are no longer sticky. I wash them with liquid dishwashing soap and water and scrub wth a brush to get all the gunk off. Let them sit till they are good and dry. Then spray with repositonable spray adhesive. You can use them almost immediately after spraying, and the stickiness is almost just like a new mat. Just be sure to spray outside.Thanks for the chance to win this great cart.

My tip is to be patient when using the Cricut, practice makes perfect and a sharp blade makes all the difference in the world. I think you are right, there is something for everyone in this release. My favorites would have to be Tis the Season, Paper Trimmings and Ribbons and Rosettes.

Wow...who can keep us with all hte new releases ...and then to decide which ones you really "need"? I have learned to cut the shape I need on a scrap pc of paper 1st if I am really not sure if I am cutting it the right size ..then I add it to my stash and possibly use it on another project...also make sure if keep the mat covered to prevent dust and lint build up ..a clean and sticky mat is a must !

What a fun selection of carts this month! My favorite tip is probably a combination Gypsy/Expression tip. When I had my baby bug, it wasn't hard to see where to put small pieces of paper to cut individual colors, but with the expression, it was a bit trickier to know where it was going to cut. *Until* I noticed the arrow on the Gypsy! Now I lay my mat with the arrow pointing to the left like it's shown on the Gypsy and I never have a problem. lol

Wow! Great new cartridges! Can't wait to see what you can do with them. My cricut tip would be to first take out the forgein language papers in the front of the book but be sure to check both sides. Also, write the numbers on the overlay to correspond with the page so you don't have to search for you button to make your cut.

My best tip would be to try each and every creative function. Take your time and have a great time! I love all the new carts of course I would love all of them but I don't have an Imagine yet! I'm hoping Santa is listening! LOL Thank you Joy for all the wonderful things you do for us!

i'm loving 'sweater weather' as my favorite. i'm glad to be a circle member to get my 'exclusive' also. "one of my tips:" if you have a good clean cut one time, then the next cut seems to 'tear, or fray'....unload your blade housing and push down the blade as if you were changing the blade. check for bits of paper that get caught up in the housing. clean it off and start over. this has worked for me on numerous occasions.

My tip is to always check your size setting. For some reason I keep hitting that roller and changing the size on my cuts! I love the Ribbons and Rosettes and the Paper Trimmings Cartridges, and sooo many of the others! Would love to win! Thanks for a great blog and wonderful chances to win!!

I'm fairly new to the Cricut but the one thing I've found that works for me is to keep two mats going - one stickier for cardstock and one not as sticky for lighter weight papers. That way I can get those light weight papers off without them tearing!

Loving the new releases! Looking forward to seeing you share your ideas and then I will want even more! LOL!My best tip.... FOLLOW JOY's blogs...all of them.... and you will learn so much and get so many ideas! Thanks Joy!

I'm a new cricit owner and really found all the tips in the comments so helpful. I do watch U Tube and videos on cricut sites and blogs. They are the best way to learn. Would love any of the cartridges. I do have Flower Shoppe and the videos are a must to really learn how to do the spiral flowers.

Love so many of these new carts! Can't wait to get them! My tip would be to invest in a gypsy! You can do soooo much more with this and save so much paper! I hardly craft without it!Thanks for the chancegayle_shrader at yahoo dot com

I think I need an Imagine! Love all of those carts for that and I don't have one :( I love the Noah's ABC though - so cute! I must admit I can't really think of a tip for using the Cricut - I love mine but I am still doing trial and error. But scanning down, I have seen quite a few tips that I didn't know about so I think reading tips from others is a good tip in itself :)

My tip is to search your favorite blogs (including this one!) for their tips and tricks on the cartridge before using it. A couple of times I've not done that and gotten so frustrated, that I almost threw the cartridge out (not really). Then search the blogs and low and behold, solutions to my problems!

Wow, lots of great new cartridges! My tip would be to go to the cricut messageboard, I learned so much from them. After reading other peoples tips about going to youtube and watching tutorials, I'm going to check those out too. Thanks!

Tip: use design studio or the new Cricut craft room to lay out what you plan to cut. Sames paper and time and it can be done anywhere you can plug in your computer. Love the new cartridges and the giveaway.

My Cricut tip is to keep the Cricut accessible. If I have to clear a spot for it or move things around to use it, I find that I don't use it as much...not good! So I make my Cricut space a priority. Love the new cartridges, especially Santa's Village but I don't have the Imagine :( Maybe someday.Thanks for the chance to win the Happy Hauntings Cartridge. I would love to have this cartridge. Also thanks for the ads that you post on Sundays for the craft stores. They are very helpful to me. Cindy

Oh my God!!! What incredible new releases . . . love all of the animals and the holiday cartridge. It just keeps getting better and better. Would love to win the the Halloween cartridge. thanks for all the information you constantly share with all of us.

Love the new carts! My best Cricut tip? Besides ACTUALLY getting it OUT of the BOX, LOL... I would say to find a cut you like a cut it BIG. Especially if it's detailed. If you are a new user it will give you a feel for how the pieces cut and will fit together AND it will still be large enough for you to see what you're doing.

My best tip for using the Cricut is to get a Gypsy. It took me a long time to take the plunge but now that I did I LOVE it!! I'm not in the market for the Expression2 but it looks like it combines the Expression and Gypsy. ....very tempting.

I love, love, love all the new cartridges. I can't wait to get my hands on these (well, the ones that will work on my machine). My newest, and coolest, tip to date. If your mat is no longer sticky, use WD40. Spray the mat, then use a scrapper or old credit card to get all the goo off. Afterwards, wash the mat with soap and water, then use the method of your choice ot re-stick it. Make sure you protect your work surface, this is messy but very effective. Thanks for the chance to win.

Love the new cartridges but paper Trimmings is my favorite so glad I am in the Circle, so far this year the Cricle cartridges are awesome. Favorite tip, I also test cut on plain white cardstock to make sure it is the right size. Then if it is just what I wanted I will color it using inks and heat emboss or markers so I don't waste that plain white paper

I am a long time follower. My cricut tip is to always make sure to put the clear plastic cover back over your mat when you are finished using it. It makes them last a lot longer. Also you can make a mat 'resticky' again by using a Zig 2 way glue pen (chisel tip) and coat the entire mat. Let it dry for about 10 to 15 mins and it will be stick again.

One of the best Cricut tips i've heard and used is to use a deep blade in the regular housing to cut the more intricate cuts. I tried it with the housing set at 3 and I have never been happier with those frustrating little cuts! Great tip. Love all the new carts. the ribbons and rosettes looks fabulous and I love that they did New Testament! Awesome.

I love all of the new release. I want them all. I am a loyal follower and love your creativity. I am a new user and i think the best tip take the plunge and try different things. Also seek out videos of what others are doing. Thanks for the opportunity to win the cart.luvglitzoo

My tip is knowing how to determine the size of your cut. When looking at your book hold it vertically. When choosing your size it will cut measuring as you're looking at the image from left to right. (I hope that made sense)!

Love the nw carts :) But now I HAVE to have an Imagine because someone at ProvoCraft made that Santa's Village just for ME! My DH and I LOVE mid-century Christmas images and decorations and ...I HAVE to have it!!! My tip for the Cricut is to subscribe to Joy @ Melanies' blogs and watch as many videos as you have time for and they will make you pros ASAP!Thanks for all you do,Beth Anne in PAwoody42997 at aol dot com

My best tip is to just play with your Cricuts. I watch a lot of you tube videos and then try it on my cricut. The more you play with it, the more you can realize it's full potential and all the fun things you can do with it. My favorite cartridge in this release is Santa's Village. I'm not really into Santa, but the graphics and images are pretty great. I may break down and get this one.

Thanks for sharing this with us. I can't wait to get my hands on Go Canada! I went to Michaels first thing this morning - but it's not here yet (and not available online). My best Cricut tip is to cut smaller images inside shadow cuts. This is a better use of paper - and the middle of the shadow (from where the smaller cuts are made) are always hidden by the main image!

Have a note book next to your cricut so you can remember the depths of certain projects, if you used real dial size...etc so you don't have to play the guessing game again. That way you save the paper you wasted trying to figure it out before.

Something I recently discovered, you can use your Cricut to cut Contact Paper. Pull the backing off and use the stickyness of the contact paper to stick it to your mat (worn-out, not sticky mats are perfect for this). Set the settings to slow-medium speed, medium-deep cut, and 5-6 on the blade. The beauty of Contact paper is that it is less expensive than vinyl and is repositionable - great for party decorations, stencils and other temporary uses.

For the newbies: the first tip I was given when I got my Cricut was to write the word "Top" in black marker on the protector for my Cricut cutting mat so that I don't accidentally put it back on the mat upside down.

My best tip... to share my Cricut machines with my friends! Cricut is just too much fun not to share! My friends push my skills in using the system and we are way more adventurous at trying different things! LOVE it! Love all the new cartridges!

There's something about each one that I like, which translates to "I need them all". When cutting glitter paper, be sure to clean your mat thoroughly immeditely afterward. You wouldn't think a little glitter left would matter, but it does. dreama 1947 @ yahoo dot com

I have found that the new mats sometimes are so sticky the paper is hard to get off without tearing. I use a little talc powder on back of paper. It comes off easier and does not harm the mat or keep it from working.

My best Cricut tip is for when you want to cut a photo (or anything) in a circle, and want to exactly line up the circle cut. First, cut the circle size you want out of paper (making note of the starting position of the blade), and hinge the paper on the mat by placing a strip of tape along one edge of the paper, so that it can be lifted but not removed. Then, place your photo under the paper and move it around until it is exactly centered under the circle cutout. Then stick the photo to the mat, remove the paper with the circle cut out of it, and return the blade to the place where it was originally (that you have previously made a note of.) Then when you cut the circle again it exactly cuts out what you wanted of your photo!

As a Cricut newbie, my only tip is to look on the internet for Cricut tips, and follows blogs like yours!! I have learned so much in such a little time that I am not afraid of my Cricut anymore! I love learning how to create with my new Cricut!

SOOO excited about the Go Canada cartridge!! I can't wait to get my hands on it! Specifically the curling and hockey images -- the beaver is so cute too! My best tip for the Cricut is to also purchase a GYPSY. It makes everything to much quicker and I find you can do so many more things. Thanks for the chance to win, and the great info and ideas you provide!

I'm super excited for the new cartridges. My best tip...its silly, but it works. I am a visual learner therefore if I don't have my gypsy nothing will turn out right! Other than that its all fair game! Thanks for the opportunity to win!

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